Strategic E-commerce Fulfilment and Innovation Hubs in the UAE: Amazon and AKI

Amazon Build to Suit (BTS) Fulfillment Centre – AUH1

Amazon build to suit (BTS), Fulfilment Centre for phase one is located in Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD), which is a free zone dedicated to industrial processes. Spanning across 40 sq. km, ICAD is part of Musaffah, a popular industrial district located in the southwest of Abu Dhabi. The master development is one of the most important economic zones in the UAE housing several factories and a port. The project has been directly commissioned by Amazon USA and is run with their standards.

Regarding the execution, RAQ will begin the project for the Amazon fulfillment center after another contractor has enhanced the soil and leveled the plot. The client’s targeted timeline for completing the ‘Build to Suit (BTS), Fulfillment Centre (FC) Phase 1 – “AUH1”’ project is set at 14 months (420 days). As always, we plan our project in phases and divide areas in zones for easy deployment of resources.

Specific construction highlights include:

• Construction Methodology: Completed within a 14-month period, our construction methodology exemplifies our philosophy on efficient building practices and an early access strategy for the e-fulfillment hub.
• Steel Erection: Erection of steel starts of in Zone 2; we start the erection from the left; this is the absolution center of the entire building.
• Early Access Plan: Ten months into the project, the super-flat slabs begin shaping up, aligning with the early access plan.

Al Khayyat Investments (AKI) Fulfilment & Innovation Centre

In a separate major development, Al Khayyat Investments (AKI) has announced the opening of a state-of-the-art Fulfilment & Innovation Centre in Dubai Industrial City, part of TECOM Group. Spanning 1 million sq ft, the facility quadruples AKI’s fulfilment capacity in the UAE while enabling faster and more efficient delivery of goods to AKI’s extensive partner and customer network. It will serve as a cornerstone for the company’s continued regional expansion as well as raising the benchmark in agile, sustainable supply chain operations in the UAE.

Initially, the centre will focus on supporting AKI’s growing retail, e-commerce, and distribution businesses, serving more than 30,000 business customers and providing home delivery services for consumers. Notably, the centre already has an on-time delivery rate of 98.5% for orders requested within 24 hours.

Operations and Automation

The site already handles over half a million units per day, with the capability to triple this figure and a peak in to the level of automation within the facility shows it is built for scale and speed. The facility incorporates cutting-edge automation technologies and smart design processes with a fully paperless environment.

Key Facility Data and Capabilities

• Total Area: 1 million sq ft (with provisions to expand by nearly 200,000 sq ft).
• Storage Capacity: Multiple storage solution systems with a capacity of 78,000 pallets and 67,000 bins.
• Handling Capacity: Capacity to handle +1.5 million units per day.
• Shipping Volume: Approximately 17 million units shipped monthly.
• Logistics Fleet: A fleet of over 150 vehicles supports operations.
• Customer Reach: Average of 23,000 unique B2B customer deliveries.